This thing called Motherhood
Me and my girls
Sad that I almost can’t carry him- proud of who he has grown into <3
Fun filled science day
Being a mom is the craziest journey… like ever. You go through a trillion emotions in one day, you feel the most immense love, then the most immense frustration… sometimes the most immense happiness and then sometimes the most immense sadness… and this happens daily in a 12 hour span. I mean, among everything else that we do, that seems like enough to cause insane exhaustion, no?! Then, add on top of that: gourmet chef for little people who eat NOTHING, chauffeur for the loudest, craziest little shits ever (what’s worse, driving around 3 toddlers, or drunk sorority girls… IDK to me it’s a close call), referee (WHYYYYY DO THEY FIGHT ABOUT EV-ER-Y-THING?!), emotional support staff… you get the point.
And, on top of ALL OF THAT, you literally feel their emotions in your own body. My amazing, wise friend Brittney explained, “They are your organs, living outside of your body.” I can’t think of a better way to describe a mother-kid relationship. Every ailment they have, every hurt, every scary situation, you literally feel it. In those moments, I wish with all of my being that I could take it right from them and go through it myself. Motherhood. It is such a crazy, amazing, intense thing. But, on the opposite end of the spectrum you also get to so deeply feel their joy, their happiness, and their love. Their successes, their need and desire for your snuggles, and love. Hearing my daughter laugh puts the BIGGEST smile on my face. Watching them succeed at something makes me the proudest person on the planet. My boys worked SO hard to pass their swimming test. They decided they needed that green bracelet and the boys that have never swam across and entire pool did. And the crazy lady, cheering and screaming along the side of the pool? Yup, yours truly. The bond… my goodness, the bond. There is NOTHING like it. Nothing.
Then you go through the sucky situations where they have to get a shot, or even worse something like stitches. You have to be the one to put them through it, to literally hold your child down while someone is doing something that they can’t understand will make them better. To them it just hurts. When my son got stitches and I had to hold him down with 2 other nurses while they were sewing up his foot, I felt like I wanted to pass out, but I also had to be strong and talk him through it. Every time my daughter has a tough appointment, I literally take a full day (at least) to re-coop emotionally, but again, I still have to physically be present with a smile on my face. And when someone is mean to them, I have to remind myself that I am the adult and I can not tell a 5 year old off. You have to put your emotions aside and teach them the way to get through these things, and how to make it right. So much responsibility. Being a mother is the most important job I will EVER have. And I take it so seriously. It is MY job to show them right from wrong. To teach them to be good, kind, compassionate beings. To let them know that the world will be tricky and can be cruel, but that they have to try with all their being to see the good and the light. To BE the good and the light. If we all take this seriously, and teach them that they are not always right, and to be kind, compassionate people, this world WILL get better. A lot of that is in our hands. Take that in… it’s a lot, but it’s also a pretty freaking awesome responsibility.
Siena and her new “CHEEEESE” face. My real life Wonder Woman
Our first stitches experience… James actually turned into The Hulk. Apparently I like this shirt.
James required Siena’s stroller- Mom got a great workout.
Also, let’s be real… we’re very honest about not doing it right all the time. Because, really, who does? And as we’ve said THAT’S OK! Because they need to see your mistakes, and your struggles too. They need to see how you deal with it. Beating yourself up because you argued with your husband in front of them? Show them how you make up, and love each other just the same after that silly argument. Screamed like a maniac at them? Explain to them why you got frustrated, and how they could have listened the first time, and you could have expressed yourself differently. Have no patience left, and just give in because they annoy the crap out of you until you say “fine, whatever, I don’t care"? Next time, stay firm and explain the reason for your choice. I’m literally just going down the list of the mistakes I make on reg, so as you can see, it ain’t all peaches and cream here, but it’s real. And I’m happy it’s not all perfect because they need to know that the real world isn’t perfect. Life isn’t perfect. They need to know that mistakes will happen, and they need to understand that there is always a resolution, and a solution. Also, there is always a way to improve and do better. They need to know that life will be hard- it will have it’s ups and downs, and they will get through it and learn from those hard times. So, here’s my challenge today. What’s something you can improve on? How can you make some of these hard, frustrating moments teachable moments? How can you and those little kiddos learn from past mistakes? Yes, I know, I’m giving you MORE responsibility and things to do and think about. Sorry, but I promise it will be beneficial.
Last but not least, let them be little, let them express themselves. As much as they learn from us, we can learn from them. I learn from my 2, 5, 7 and 16 year old constantly. I learn strength, and seeing the best of things from my 2 year old. I learn to be able to laugh things off and be silly, and that it’s ok to show my emotions from my 5 year old. I learn patience (mostly because he requires a lot of it!) and determination from my 7 year old. And I’ve learned how to flat out be a better person from my 16 year old. From her, I’ve learned to let the little things go. The mess will be cleaned up, and the clutter will disappear as the years go on. Put the vacuum away and enjoy this time, because it goes by SO fast. Let them get dirty, let them have a food fight. When the science experiment isn’t great, let them rub the colored shaving cream all over themselves (once again, talking from personal experience here). It’s nothing that a broom and hose can’t fix. And the memories will last a lifetime, and you will FEEL their joy and laughter within yourself.
Science experiments gone wrong.
Sensory Bin activity gone wrong.
M, or the Hulk?
Clean up sucked… laughter and joy was irreplaceable.
Stay real. Stay balanced. Let yourself feel through your children.
XOXO
Lyndsay
